BA in English: Creative Writing
The 39 unit B.A. balances 12 semester hours of writing courses with 12 semester hours of literature courses designed to increase the student's depth and breadth of knowledge. The required 9 semester hours of Creative Process classes can be chosen from topics such as: Personal Narrative, American Poetics, Contemporary World Poetry, Style in Fiction, The Short-Short Story, and Plays: Reading and Viewing. Also required is a course chosen from one of two areas: "Theory and Language" or "Writing from the American Experience," which includes a selection of courses from the departments of English, Ethnic Studies, and Women Studies.
M.A. in English: Creative Writing
The M.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing is a 30-unit course of study in the writing of fiction, poetry, or plays, with requirements evenly divided between writing workshops (9 semester hours), literature courses (9 semester hours) and Creative Process courses (9 semester hours). Also required is a creative thesis (3 semester hours). Our purpose is to foster the imagination, craft and opportunity of those who plan to be professional writers.
M.A. Creative Process course topics include the following: Characterization, Contemporary Non-Fiction, Centering on Language, Elements of Playwriting, Experimental Fiction, Feminist Poetics, The Novella, and The Prose Poem.
The M.A. degree offers students the opportunity to focus on ambitious, constructive exploration of creative written work; central to this exploration is the study of diverse works of literature. Since the M.A. degree is required for the Community College Teaching Credential in California, some students also apprentice themselves in the teaching of writing--as Teaching Assistants working for units within the department, or as workshop leaders in community organizations. Some of our students take the sequence of composition courses in the English Department in addition to their degree requirements.
M.F.A. in Creative Writing
The M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing was instituted in the Fall of l991. It is a 54-unit course of study in the writing of fiction, poetry, or plays. The M.F.A. is considered the terminal degree in the field.
A studio academic fine-arts degree, the M.F.A. offers extensive and intensive personal study in the crafting of publishable works of fiction, poetry, and drama. 18 semester hours of Writing Workshop courses are required. The M.F.A. degree also offers opportunities for intensive academic study, and pre-professional training in teaching and publishing. 12 semester hours of literature or graduate level Creative Process courses are required, as well as 6 semester hours of M.F.A. Creative Process courses, chosen from topics such as: Individual Vision: Fiction, The Art of Short Fiction, Line and Language, The Voice in Poetry, Writing the Producible Play and Word into Print. There is also a 12 semester hour "minor," a cluster of courses related to the student's special interests. The creative thesis for the M.F.A. is worth 6 semester hours, and is expected to be of publishable quality.
Since many university-level tenure-track positions in Creative Writing advertise only for applicants with the M.F.A. (or M.F.A. preferred), publishing writers holding this terminal degree are considered to have an edge over applicants with M.A. degrees.
Both graduate degrees include individual directed writing projects; internships in the literary community involving editing, publishing; a teaching creative writing course, and other professional training opportunities.
All three of our degrees are notable for their rigor and innovation. We have planned our curriculum to reflect our commitment to variety in writing--style, subject, and approach. This responds to the quite distinctly different backgrounds and interests of our students and also recognizes the complexity and breadth of contemporary writing. Our philosophical orientation is therefore eclectic. A great many of our students go on to win recognition and publish their work. Many others go into positions of leadership in publishing firms, foundations and arts organizations. Most of the community college creative writing programs in the Bay Area are staffed with our graduates.
The graduate degrees have many over-lapping requirements, and all three degrees have the same faculty. Graduate students who have the time for a long, intensive program in which to develop their writing and explore a range of courses, or who would like to teach writing at a college or university, would want to get the M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Students who don't have the time and money for a long program, or who would like to teach English and creative writing at a community college, might be more interested in the M.A.in English: Creative Writing.
Because they would like to be able to apply for teaching jobs at both community colleges and four year colleges and universities, some of our students get both the M.A. and the M.F.A. They begin with the M.A. and then apply for the M.F.A. program. Admission to the M.A. does not imply admission to the M.F.A.
For students entering the M.F.A. program with an M.A. in English: Creative Writing, the M.F.A. is a 30-unit degree composed of the following elements: 6 units in two M.F.A. level Writing Workshops, 6 units in two M.F.A. level Creative Process classes, 12 units in the correlative, and 6 units of CW 893 Written M.F.A. Creative Work.